February 2015 - Page 5 of 17 - Auction Central News

Detroit museum to show drawings for Rivera masterpiece

Preparatory Drawing for Vaccination (Detroit Industry north wall), Diego Rivera, 1932, charcoal with red pigment over light charcoal. Detroit Institute of Arts © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York)

DETROIT (AP) – Fragile preparatory drawings for Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry murals are being readied for display as part of a new exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The Detroit Free Press reports the drawings include a full-size, 9-foot-by-7-foot study for part of the murals that recently was worked on by experts and technicians. It’s included in “Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit,” which opens March 15.

The Mexican artists lived in Detroit in 1932 and 1933 while Rivera completed the murals. Among the show’s works are eight preparatory drawings. The newspaper says they were lost for roughly 45 years until being rediscovered in the museum’s basement in the 1970s.

The exhibit is making its debut after the museum’s collection was protected from possible sale during Detroit’s bankruptcy.

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Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com

AP-WF-02-20-15 1140GMT

Cleveland Museum of Art bans popular selfie sticks

Tourists using a selfie stick for a group photo in Prague. Image by Petar Milošević. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

CLEVELAND (AP) – The Cleveland Museum of Art has added selfie sticks to its list of prohibited items in an effort to get ahead of a social trend.

The museum decided to ban the expandable sticks, which allow users to hold their cellphones a few feet away to take a self-portrait or group shot, as they became a popular gift item during the holidays.

A museum spokesman told The Plain Dealer that the ban is meant to protect artworks, protect visitors from each other and provide an optimal museum experience.

The Cleveland museum also based its decision on policies of other museums around the country. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art in Washington have also prohibited the sticks.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com

AP-WF-02-21-15 1202GMT

Barnes Foundation discovers two Cézanne sketches

Paul Cézanne, French, 1839–1906, 'Trees (Arbres),' c. 1900 (possibly earlier), watercolor and graphite on laid paper, 12 3/16 x 18 11/16 in. Image © 2015 The Barnes Foundation

PHILA., Pa. – During a recent paper conservation treatment, the Barnes Foundation discovered two unfinished sketches – one graphite and one watercolor – on the reverse sides of two watercolors by Cézanne, which depict the landscape of southern France: The Chaine de l’Etoile Mountains (BF650) and Trees (BF655), normally on view in room 20 of the Collection Gallery.

The discovery marks the first time these sketches have been seen since at least the early 20th century, most likely prior to Dr. Albert Barnes’s purchase of the works from Leo Stein in 1921. These sketches provide a glimpse behind Cezanne’s artistic process and their discovery highlights the importance of conservation efforts and dedicated collection stewardship.

To allow students and visitors the opportunity to view these sketches, they will be displayed in double-sided frames, with both sides visible, from April 10 through May 18 in the second floor classroom of the Barnes Foundation. Following their display to the public, the watercolors will be returned to their original locations.

It was not uncommon for Cezanne to work on both sides of the paper in his sketchbooks and on larger, individual sheets such as these, and over the course of his career he produced thousands of drawings, some of which were done in preparation for oil paintings, but most often they were a place to experiment with line and color.

“These sketches offer a window into Cezanne’s artistic process, which is truly invaluable,” said Barbara Buckley, senior director of conservation and chief conservator of paintings at the Barnes Foundation.

“Barnes bought The Chaine de l’Etoile Mountains (BF650) and Trees (BF655) from Leo Stein, the American collector who, along with his sister, Gertrude, had assembled one of the world’s most important collections of modern European art,” said Martha Lucy, assistant professor at Drexel University and consulting curator at the Barnes Foundation. “What Barnes probably didn’t know was that in purchasing these two watercolors from Stein, he had actually acquired four works by Cézanne.”

The Barnes Foundation’s collection holds 365 works on paper comprised of primarily American and European works from the late 19th to early 20th century. The IMLS Museums for America Program grant that funded the discovery of these new sketches, provided for the conservation treatment of 22 watercolors and pastels on paper including five works by Paul Cézanne, five by Pablo Picasso, nine by Paul Klee, two by Edgar Degas, and one by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The conservation included mending tears, stabilizing supports, rehousing the works with archival quality materials, and providing ultraviolet-light filtering protection.

Chicago museum salutes Ireland’s decorative and fine arts

John Egan, portable harp, circa 1820. The O’Brien Collection

CHICAGO – “Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840” will open at the Art Institute of Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, with a special ribbon-cutting featuring bagpipes and local dignitaries. It will be the first major exhibition to showcase the decorative and fine arts of 18th century Ireland, bringing together more than 300 objects – many never before seen in public – lent by public and private collectors across North America. The exhibition, which continues through June 7, will provide an extraordinarily rich overview of Ireland’s creative legacy.

To add to the Gaelic atmosphere of the show, a temporary Irish pub will be created in the museum’s Café Moderno where guests can hoist a beer after they visit the exhibition.

The seeds for the exhibition were first planted by historian Desmond FitzGerald, the Knight of Glin, who in his 2007 book Irish Furniture outlined his vision for “a major exhibition on Ireland’s decorative arts of the 18th century, which would include furniture [and] bring together the common threads of the different fields. … A show of this stature would waken up the world to a staggering array of art that was manufactured in Ireland during this period.”

Ireland expands on FitzGerald’s vision to also include paintings, sculpture and architecture as well as ceramics, glass, furniture, metalwork, musical instruments, and textiles. Such an exhibition has never before been undertaken on either side of the Atlantic.

Organized thematically in 10 galleries – from portraiture to landscapes, from Dublin to the Irish country house – the exhibition celebrates the Irish as artists, collectors, and patrons. Through this exhibition and its accompanying catalogue, these often little-known and mostly privately held objects will be shown together for the first time.

The exhibition begins in 1690, the year of the Battle of the Boyne, and ends in 1840, a few years before the onset of the Great Famine. Galleries will explore the harp as a symbol of Ireland; portraiture in Ireland; Dublin as a center of government, commerce, and education; Irish landscapes and tourism; and the material world of the Irish country house (with particular attention to Carton House, County Kildare, and Headfort House, County Meath). A series of “Made in Ireland” galleries will feature objects in all media highlighting Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Waterford as centers of production and consumption, and will also include amateur arts such as needlework and cut paper. Objects representing more than 24 of Ireland’s 32 counties will be on display.

Notable items in the exhibition represent the breadth of Irish decorative arts practiced during the 18th century. The image of the harp became a key symbol of Ireland during this period, and Dublin craftsman John Egan was well known for his gut-strung portable Irish harps, one of which appears in the exhibition. Other musical instruments on display include a cither viol, also called a Sultana, and an upright piano, an Irish invention.

A broad selection of paintings and works on paper are on display, including Irish landscapes, still lifes and portraiture. Examples range from Robert Fagan’s titillating Portrait of a Lady as Hibernia to a rare group portrait of officers and Belfast literati, Joseph Wilson’s The Adelphi Club, Belfast. Neoclassical artist Adam Buck is represented by a self-portrait with his family, which includes a poignant marble statue of a deceased child that presents a stark contrast to the elegant setting and Buck’s fashionable clothing.

Two of the highlights of the exhibition are from the museum’s own collection: One, a fine example of Irish furniture, is a marquetry desk and bookcase made by John Kirkhoffer. The other is an important piece of silver by Dublin silversmith Thomas Bolton, a large monteith, or bowl, used for cooling wine glasses or serving punch.

Robert Fagan, 'Portrait of a Lady as Hibernia,' circa 1801. Private collection — Robert Fagan, ‘Portrait of a Lady as Hibernia,’ circa 1801. Private collection

John Kirkhoffer, secretary cabinet, 1732. Art Institute of Chicago. Gift of Robert Allerton

Regal sarcophagus will hold court in Ancient Resource’s March 8 auction

Greco-Roman marble head of satyr with attributes of Zeus-Ammon, circa 1st-2nd century AD, 9 inches, book example. Provenance: Charles Callahan Perkins collection (1823-1886). Ancient Resource image

MONTROSE, Calif. (LAPRS) – Among antiquities connoisseurs, there are two non-negotiables when considering a new acquisition: authenticity and the assurance that a dealer will stand behind their merchandise. It was those two principles that served as the foundation for Gabriel Vandervort’s Ancient Resource auction house. A former writer and producer of ancient-history documentaries for History Channel, Discovery Channel and other respected TV networks, Vandervort built Ancient Resource into a globally respected brand by committing to research, authentication and uncompromising adherence to laws governing the sale of cultural artifacts.

Ancient Resource unequivocally guarantees every item it sells, including the 375 lots entered in its March 8 Fine Ancient Artifacts Auction. Absentee and live online bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

As is the tradition with Ancient Resource auction events, the first 25 lots are interesting pieces whose estimates make them especially attractive to beginners. They are followed by logically organized groupings of premium-quality artifacts to please even the most discerning collector.

Sitting regally at the center of auction activity is Lot 35B, a superb circa 664-332 BC Egyptian polychrome wood sarcophagus from the Late Dynastic Period. The sarcophagus is anthropomorphically formed and painted with a haunting expression on a white face, black eye and eyebrow detailing, and red lips. The male figure is depicted wearing a black tripartite wig and short, ribbed faux beard. An elaborate painted collar displays bands of geometric shapes, rosettes, lotus palms and flowers. Near the bottom are five columns of hieroglyphic text – a formula for an offering to Osiris “who resides in Ipu,” which is modern-day Akhmin.

The 66½inch sarcophagus, previously held in a New York private collection, was purchased from Samuel Haddad Works of Art in 1983. The latter dealer acquired the historical treasure from the government of Anwar Sadat in the 1970s. It is accompanied by a copy of a certificate of authenticity from Samuel Haddad Works of Art, as well as a copy of a 1983 payment docket pertaining to its purchase. Its auction estimate is $80,000-$100,000.

Lot 91, an exceptionally fine Roman bronze ewer with provenance from the Ernest Freemark collection (active 1913-1915), dates to around the 1st century AD. The 9½-inch vessel has an unusual handle whose top is formed as a woman’s torso, with depictions of two animal heads on the terminal and a draped female torso at the base. A stellar example, the heavily green-patinated ewer has remained in the Freemark and related Knickerbocker family for over a century. Estimate: $5,000-$6,000.

An impressive Greco-Roman marble head of a satyr, Lot 109C, exhibits attributes of Zeus-Ammon with its mustache, short beard, hair in tight curls, and semicircular ram’s horn around each ear. Published in M.B. Comstock/C.C. Vermeule’s 1976 reference Sculpture in Stone – The Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the work is said to represent “The mythological triumph of Dionysus in India and the real or legendary achievements of Alexander the Great in Egypt and the East.” Once held in the Charles Callahan Perkins collection (1823-1886), the 9-inch marble head could reach $40,000-$50,000 at auction.

A circa 1st century AD Roman marble statue of a goddess, probably Laetitia, stands 34½ inches high and is considered quite rare. “Most images of Laetitia, who was a minor goddess, are seen on coins, but very seldom in three-dimensional form,” said Vandervort, adding, “Originally, the figure’s right hand would have been aloft, perhaps holding a wreath.” With provenance from the Noble collection of New Jersey, the statue is estimated at $30,000-$40,000.

From the same period but of Egyptian origin, a blue composition head of a man is adorned with a tight-fitting headdress with uraeus (upright cobra) and possibly depicts a pharaoh or emperor. A small but very select artwork with handsome, well-proportioned features, the mounted 2½-inch head was formerly part of the Ligabue collection, Venice. Bidding on this piece, cataloged as Lot 73B, could reach $5,000-$6,000.

Two fascinating examples of how to walk like an Egyptian are offered consecutively in the March 8 sale. Lot 82 is a Byzantine (4th-7th century Egypt) soft leather slipper with medallion – remarkable in that it might be regarded as fashionable even today. Intact, with provenance from a noted Orange County, Calif., private collection, it is estimated at $2,000-$2,500. From the same collection and time period comes Lot 81, a rare Byzantine leather sandal with a thick sole formed from tightly woven leather straps, and a loop for the big toe. Estimate: $1,000-$1,500.

Those who collect Etruscan pottery would surely appreciate Lot 168, an imaginatively decorated Bucchero oinochoe, circa 6th century BC. The entire 10-2/5 inch vessel is trimmed with concentric lines and zigzag bands and incised with decorations of animals, rosettes and shield devices. Tremendously appealing, this piece came from the private collection of a German artist and art collector who purchased it in the third quarter of the 20th century. It is estimated at $4,500-$6,000.

Other top highlights include Lot 284, a heavy Tairona gold pendant of a menacing, sharp-toothed shaman in transition (Colombia, circa 1000-1500 AD), estimate $15,000-$18,000; and Lot 118, a wonderfully dressed and accessorized 20.3-inch terracotta figure of Aphrodite (Eastern Mediterranean, circa 4th-2nd century BC), $10,000-$12,000.

Many other categories appear in the auction catalog, including Egyptian textiles, early weapons, oil lamps, Bactrian seals and weights; Roman glass, beaded jewelry, Indus Valley and Asian utilitarian art; and Native-American and Pre-Columbian art from various cultures. Also, there are four Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets. “Well-provenanced cuneiform artifacts like these are in high demand,” Vandervort noted.

Bidders can feel completely confident about the antiquities offered in the sale, Vandervort said. “I turn down 95 percent of what’s offered to me because I’m not convinced about the items’ authenticity or provenance. We represent only authentic pieces that are legal to sell and which were obtained from carefully screened consignors.”

Ancient Resource’s March 8, 2015 auction will commence at 11 a.m. Pacific Time / 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Please note: In the USA, clocks will move forward by one hour on March 8 due to Daylight Saving Time. For additional information about any item in the auction, call 805-427-4432 or 818-425-9633; or email ancientresourceauctions@yahoo.com. Visit www.AncientResourceAuctions.com.

View the online auction catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet on auction day at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Greco-Roman marble head of satyr with attributes of Zeus-Ammon, circa 1st-2nd century AD, 9 inches, book example. Provenance: Charles Callahan Perkins collection (1823-1886). Ancient Resource image

Circa 664-332 BC Egyptian polychrome-painted wood sarcophagus from Late Dynastic Period, displays hieroglyphic text, COA from Samuel Haddad Works of Art, NY; acquired from government of Anwar Sadat in 1970s. Est. $80,000-$100,000. Ancient Resource image

Roman bronze ewer, circa 1st century AD, 9½ inches, ex Ernest Freemark collection formed 1913-1915, ex Knickerbocker family collection, New York. Est. $5,000-$6,000. Ancient Resource image

Roman marble statue of a goddess, probably Laetitia, circa 1st century AD, ex Noble collection, New Jersey. Est. $30,000-$40,000. Ancient Resource image

Egyptian blue composition head of a man wearing a headdress with uraeus, possibly a pharaoh or emperor, Roman Period, circa 1st century AD. Ex Ligabue collection, Venice. Est. $5,000-$6,000. Ancient Resource image

Rare Byzantine embroidered leather shoe, Egypt, 4th-7th century AD, ex Orange County, Calif., private collection. Est. $2,000-$2,500. Ancient Resource image

Etruscan decorated Bucchero oinochoe, Italic, circa 6th century BC, ex German private collection. Est. 4,500-$6,000. Ancient Resource image

Tairona pendant of shaman in transition, Colombia, circa 1000-1500 AD, high carat gold weighing 1½ oz / 42.60 grams. Ex HD Enterprises, ex Midwest private collection. Est. $15,000-$18,000. Ancient Resource image

Eastern Mediterranean terracotta figure of Aphrodite, circa 4th-2nd century BC, 20-1/3 inches. Ex Connecticut private collection. Est. $10,000-$12,000. Ancient Resource image

NY toasts Lunar New Year with Chinese contemporary art displays

Steel sculpture titled 'Symbiosis' by Xu Jiang. China Central Academy of Fine Art image

NEW YORK – As part of “Happy Chinese New Year: Fantastic Art China,” a series of arts and culture initiatives celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year throughout New York City, the China Central Academy of Fine Art is hosting a public exhibit of contemporary Chinese visual art at the David Rubenstein Atrium and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center now through Feb. 24.

Famous works, including some never previously exhibited outside China, will go on display from artists including:

Huang Jiancheng, chief designer of the famed China Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo;
Xu Bing, awarded the U.S. State Department’s Medial of Arts in January 2015;
Xu Jiang, president of the China Academy of Art whose works have been featured at the Venice Biennale, San Paulo Biennale, and others;
Lv Shengzhong, specialist in the ancient Chinese art of paper cutting;
Chen Wenling, whose work has been shown by more than a dozen institutions including the China Museum of Art, Korea National Art Museum and Denver Art Museum, and who has received the Perth Coastal Sculpture Public Art prize and Arox international sculpture show grand prize;
Zhan Wang, whose signature Artificial Rocks series was the first ever Chinese contemporary sculputures to be featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Through Feb. 21, four works will be featured at the Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, including:

Huang Jiancheng will present his famed animated digital tapestry recreating the momentous ancient Chinese painting Along the River during the Qingming Festival, considered by many as the most significant classical Chinese painting in history. The digital artwork has never been exhibited outside of China, and was widely renowned as the centerpiece of the China Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo;
Xu Bing will exhibit The Character of Characters, a grandiose hand-painted animation explaining the connection between Chinese characters and the temperament of people who write them;
Chen Wenling will discuss the symbolism of the era in “The Scene in the Future”;
Lv Shengzhong, a CAFA professor of experimental art, will showcase his Square Earth, Round Heaven series of traditional Chinese paper cutting.

In addition to these works, the Atrium will be transformed into a contemporary artistic take on a traditional Chinese market, in Lv Shengzhong’s Creativity Bazaar, which will serve as both a real market showing handicrafts from across China and a contemporary art piece. The bazaar will assemble traditional and innovative Chinese craftworks and New Year storing items that are specially collected from across China, including from Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Museum, Hunan Provincial Museum, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Hubei Provincial Museum, CAFA Museum, Suzhou Museum and Ordos Museum. The bazaar, which will be available for both public viewing and participation, along with the ancient market presented in Huang’s work, together will form a unique comparison and offer audiences an opportunity to better understand Chinese New Year fairs and Chinese traditions of New Year storing.

Finally, upon the completion of the exhibit at the Atrium, two additional works of art will go on display at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center from Feb. 22 to Feb. 24:

Zhan Wang, a professor at CAFA, will display his a piece from his signature sculpture Artificial Rocks, which was part of the first-ever Chinese contemporary sculpture to be featured at the Metropolitan Museum;
Xu Jiang, head of the Hangzhou-based China Academy of Art and whose work has been featured at the Venice Biennale, will showcase his steel sculpture Symbiosis, which combines nearly 400 sunflowers in an extravagant display.

Visit fantastic.art.china.cn or follow www.facebook.com/chinanewyearnyc and www.twitter.com/chinanewyearnyc for more information.

Material Culture casts Eileen Ford estate items in auction March 1

Peter Max (American, b. 1937), 'Portrait of Eileen and Jerry Ford,' original mixed media work on paper, 29in x 22in. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000. Material Culture image

PHILA., Pa. – Material Culture will offer at auction a fine selection of several hundred items from the Eileen Ford estate on Sunday, March 1, beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide absentee and Internet live bidding

Called the grand dame, doyenne and mother of the modern modeling industry, Eileen Ford shaped our standard of beauty for decades as a co-founder of Ford Models, one of the most important and influential modeling agencies of the 20th century. Not only was Ford Models the No. 1 modeling agency in the world, Eileen enforced fair pay and practices in an industry that had long exploited models, transforming modeling from a hobby to one of the world’s most glamorous careers. She was also known for a strict but motherly approach, compelling her models to their own standards of professional behavior and healthy practices.

Born in Manhattan in 1922, Eileen was a model herself during her years at Barnard College, working with one of the first modeling agencies in the U.S. She met the man who was to become her husband, Gerard “Jerry” Ford, in 1944 and they eloped the same year. Jerry, who was in the Navy, was shipped abroad to fight in World War II, and a pregnant Eileen began working as an informal secretary for several models. In 1947, they founded Ford Models, working at first out of Eileen’s parents’ home, and eventually selling their car to afford the move to a third-floor walk-up office.

From these humble beginnings, Ford Models continued to grow through Eileen’s relentless work ethic. By the 1960s, Ford Models had branches in Paris, London and Hamburg. Its dominance was threatened in the late 1970s by Elite Model Management, leading to what was dubbed the “model wars,” but Ford Models continued to expand and flourish, with revenues reaching $40 million per year in the 1990s.

The list of famous models represented by Ford across the decades is truly staggering; to name only a few, Eileen Ford can be credited with launching the careers of Christie Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs, Jerry Hall, Suzy Parker, Elle Macpherson, Jane Fonda, Ali MacGraw, Candice Bergen, Rene Russo, Kim Basinger, Lauren Hutton, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith and Brooke Shields.

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Fine Chryselephantine Hanau silver group. A Teutonic knight and his maiden, German, attributed to B. Neresheimer & Sohne, late 19th to early 20th century, 8.5in tall. Estimate: $2,000-$4,000. Material Culture image

Minton Pate-Sur-Pate porcelain plates, circa 1900. Estimate: $1,000-$2,000. Material Culture image

Antique Chinese brass and jade or hardstone oval box, 5in x 9in x 5.5in. Estimate: $300-$500. Material Culture image

Jeffrey S. Evans stocks up on country store items for Feb. 28 sale

From a fine collection of signs and other advertising memorabilia. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image

MT. CRAWFORD, Va. – Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates will offer a large group of desirable collectible and historical objects in a country store and variety auction on Feb. 28. One of the main focuses of the sale is the offering of approximately 15,000 postcards comprising the Dorothy R. Daniel Estate collection. Highlighting the collection are the extensive Halloween cards, with many examples by John Winsch and Sam Gabriel.LiveAuctioneers.com will provide absentee and Internet live bidding.

This auction also includes an extensive collection of over 220 photographs and other ephemera from the archives of the late Joseph Imburgio Bulger, lawyer and prominent Chicagoan of the 1920s and ’30s, primarily concerning the building and operations of the Italian Village at the Century of Progress 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, of which Bulger was a principal organizer and driving force. Highlights include letters and photographs of burlesque actress and dancer Sally Rand, mostly relating to her substantial role in the Italian Village entertainment, ephemera and photographs related to Italo Balbo’s transatlantic flight, and a program from a banquet held in honor of Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of the radio, signed by the Nobel Prize winner.

Additional highlights include a Virginia collection of rare advertising and country store material, vintage toys and dolls, country furniture and accessories, stoneware, kitchen items including rare blue and white salt-glaze, large collections of carnival glass and beer steins, additional collections of figural cats and elephants, corkscrews and wall match safes, doorstops and a wide range of other collectibles of all types.

For further information e-mail info@jeffreysevans.com, or call 540-434-3939.

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Country store material including a fine collection of syrup dispensers. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image

Rare signed Sally Rand photos and letters from the Bulger archives of Century of Progress Chicago World’s Fair material. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image

A sample of over 15,000 post cards from the Daniel estate collection. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image

Blue and white salt-glazed kitchenware. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image

World’s oldest psychiatric hospital opens new museum

An 1815 colored etching G. Arnaud (1763-1841) of patient James Norris, an American Marine who was a patient at Bethlem since 1800. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

BECKENHAM, UK – The world’s oldest psychiatric institution, the Bethlem Royal Hospital outside London, this week opened a new museum and art gallery charting the evolution in the treatment of mental disorders.

The original hospital was founded in 1247 in what is now central London and the name spawned the English word “bedlam” meaning chaos and madness.

In the 18th century visitors could pay to gawk at the hospital’s patients and, three centuries later, stereotypes about mental illness still abound.

“The museum is to do with challenging the stigma around mental health and one of the main ways you can do that is actually get people to walk onto the site and realize that this is not a frightening, threatening and dark place,” Victoria Northwood, head of the Archives and Museum, told AFP.

The bleak period in the history of mental treatment is addressed but not dwelled upon in the museum.

Iron and leather shackles used until the mid-19th century to restrain patients are displayed behind a wall of mirrors so they cannot be seen directly.

A padded cell is deconstructed and supplemented with audio of a patient describing what is was like to be locked inside.

Not Black and White

The exhibition is full of interactive exhibits, including a video where the visitor is challenged to decide whether to commit a young woman, in denial about the dangers of her anorexia, to hospital against her will.

The decision is surprisingly difficult and it shows the complexity in diagnosing ailments linked to the brain, which we still know comparatively little.

“We are just getting across that this is not a black and white issue. It is not very easy. Human beings aren’t very easy,” Northwood said.

Art features strongly throughout the space, starting with the imposing 17th century statues Raving Madness and Melancholy Madness by Caius Gabriel Cibber, which used to stand at the entrance to the Bethlem hospital when it was in central London.

Also included are paintings by current or former patients, like Dan Duggan’s haunting charcoal “Cipher series of a man’s elongated face – a testament to the 41-year-old’s inner turmoil.

Duggan, who made several suicide attempts and was detained three times under the mental health act including at Bethlem, said art was an instrumental tool in his recovery.

“A lot of the time you spend in hospital, particularly a psychiatric hospital, is very prescribed.

“When you’re engaged in a creative process, you’re able to be free of all of that for a while and the power is back in your hands to do whatever you want to do,” he said.

‘A Very Powerful Outlet’

Visual artist and dancer Liz Atkin grew up in an alcoholic household. She developed dermatillomania or Compulsive Skin Picking from the age of eight as a way to manage the stress.

“I could have ended things in a very different way,” said Atkin, now aged 38.

Atkin received treatment and works with patients at the anxiety unit of Bethlem, which is now located in spacious grounds about one hour south of London.

She said the new museum and gallery is a unique space to encourage healing.

“Making artwork isn’t a complete cure and I personally don’t think that I’m cured, but I think it provides a very powerful outlet for some of those things that are hard to talk about.”

Ford’s Theatre museum closed after water leak

Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Image by Ingfbruno. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The museum at the Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site in Washington is closed for a second day Thursday after a water leak flooded the museum floor.

National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst says about an inch of water was found in the museum Wednesday morning. He says maintenance crews stopped the leak but didn’t immediately determine the cause. Litterst says the water leak could be weather-related.

The museum is located under the historic theater where President Abraham Lincoln was shot. Both are big tourist draws.

Litterst says no museum artifacts have been affected or threatened by the water. Museum curators were on site to monitor humidity levels and other conditions.

The theater’s production of The Widow Lincoln was performed as scheduled Wednesday evening.

Information from: The Index-Journal, http://www.indexjournal.com

AP-WF-02-19-15 1432GMT

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